Walkera F210 quadcopter review

I know that I’m a bit delayed with the review of the Walkera F210 because this model was announced at the end of 2015. Lately, Walkera announced a new upgraded version called F210 3D with inverted flight mode.

After their popular Runner 250 Advanced, last year Walkera announced a bigger model (Furious 320), which looks just like a flying tank :), and a smaller one – this F210. Even if the Walkera F210 was the smallest racing quad at that time, it had approximately the same price as the other two bigger models.

In order to expand their product line with a more compact racing quad, Walkera announced last week the Rodeo F150. It is tough to decide which racing quadcopter is better between this variety of sizes (150, 210, 250, or 320 mm), but if you got the “virus,” you will want to own all of them :)

Based on my experience with other racing quadcopters I can tell that are some fun toys. The sensation of playing with them is totally different and more spectacular compared to flying cruising drones.

There are several package combinations of this Walkera F210 racing quad on the market. According to your budget and needs, you can choose from the following:

• ARF package without battery, transmitter, and OSD module;
• BNF with battery but without transmitter;
• Full package with Devo 7 transmitter.

As usual, before I start to sketch my reviews, I try to find out as much as possible about the product. This time, besides the positive things, I found out that the F210 has a fail-safe bug, which means that flyaways can occur if the aircraft loses the connection with the transmitter. Immediately after I found out about this bug, I contacted the manufacturer. Fortunately, this issue can be remediated easily and I will describe at the end of my Walkera F210 review how it can be done.

Walkera F210 review with pros and cons

When I saw the first promo video of this Walkera model, the one where the F210 goes through a thick sheet of glass, I was pretty impressed, almost like I fell in love :D. That time, I knew that I needed one to test it, so I was glad when Elliot from GearBest contacted me suggesting to review the Walkera F210. Due to our previous good cooperation, I immediately accepted his offer.

As I already own a Devo 7 transmitter, I requested a BNF (Bind and Fly) package of the Walkera F210, which way reducing the shipping costs and customs taxes. Because of some stupid regulations regarding the 4s Li-Po batteries they didn’t include the flight battery and I had to order it separately so another 3 weeks passed before I could finally test this flying beauty. What a waste of time :(

Later, Elliot sent me an extra camera holder (F210 – Z – 36) which allows me to install on the top of the FPV camera an additional GoPro or Mobius-like camera. I’m planning to use the F210 together with my RunCam 2 to record the journey of my flights.

Walkera F210 Highlights

• Robust, crash proof air-frame;
• Modular design;
• Reliable and powerful brushless motors (WK-WS-28-014A, KV2500);
• High voltage 4s battery;
• Multiple flight modes (Stabilize, Intermediate and Advanced);
• 700 TVL camera with angle adjustment;
• 5.8G real-time image transmission module (CE 25 mW or FCC 200 mW);
• OSD (allows the display of telemetry information like flight time, main battery voltage, and heading angle);
• Turn lights;
• About 7-9 minutes of flight autonomy.

Walkera F210: First Impressions

The quad arrived in the standard box (with handle) that can also store the transmitter, which is great because it can be used to carry the quad to the flying zone, especially as I know there is no dedicated backpack available for this model.

Peeking inside the box, my first impression was “WOW!”. The design of the F210 quad is pretty cool and robust. Almost every part is made from 3K carbon fiber or aluminum. To allow good impact resistance, the arms are 3 mm thick.

As I received a BNF edition, my package included only a few accessories, but the full package is very generous and includes the following:

• Walkera F210 aircraft;
• Devo 7 transmitter with trainer cable;
• 4S 1300mAh, 40C Li-Po flight battery (XT60);
• Balance battery charger;
• 1 set of spare propellers (2 CW and 2 CCW);
• Installation tools (propeller wrench and two hex keys);
• Anti-sliding rubber band for the battery;
• Micro USB data cable;
• F210 quick start guide.

On the front part of the aircraft is located the 700TVL camera right above the two frontal LED lights. As usual, the 5.8G mushroom antenna and the status LEDs bar are located in the back of the aircraft. The horizontal status bar has four zones with 8 LEDs (two are red and six yellow). 3 LEDs indicate when the aircraft turns to the left, respectively another 3 when the aircraft turns to the right. The other two LEDs indicate the status of the F210.

The Walkera F210 is powered by a high voltage battery (14.8V ) in order to allow aggressive flying with high throttle punches.

Unlike the Runner 250 Advanced, this F210 doesn’t have a GPS positioning system, so no fancy features like one key return to home or fail-safe return to home.

Walkera F210: Transmitter

The F210 racing quad comes with the Devo 7, which is a nice entry-level 7CH remote controller from Walkera. It feels good in hand but is heavier compared to the newer 7E, especially because is powered by 8 pieces of AA Ni-Cd batteries. Finding it more convenient to feed the transmitter with a single battery, I already replaced the expensive Ni-Cd batteries with a cheaper 11.1V 2200mAh 15C Li-Po.

Being a “universal” transmitter suitable for all kinds of remote controlled aircraft (airplanes, quadcopters, and helis), some settings have to be done before binding it with the quad. In the F210’s user manual there are precisely described all the configuration steps for the Devo 7 transmitter.

The motors can be easily armed by moving the throttle stick (mode 2 – left stick) to the lowest left corner and holding it for 2 seconds. Disarming can be done similarly by moving the throttle stick to the lowest right position.

Switching between flight modes can be made by using the 3-position “Mix” switch on the right side above the”Elevator” stick.

BTW, if your model has been manufactured before March 8th, 2016, you will need to replace the receiver board in order to be fully compatible with the new firmware, which eliminates the FS bug.

Walkera F210 review – Camera and FPV system

The frontal 700TVL camera performs well in light changes and is pretty usable even in very dark conditions. In the future, I’m planning to test it against the RunCam Swift, which is one of the best FPV cameras. BTW, the angle of the camera is easily adjustable in order to obtain the best field of view.

According to your local regulation, you can opt between between two types of 5.8G Tx modules:

• TX5824 (CE) with 25mW power and around 150 meter range;
• TX5825 (FCC) with 200mW power and around 300-meter transmission range.

Curiously, mine arrived without an F210-Z-30 OSD module, so I got only clean images without telemetry information on my 7″ Eachine LCD5802 FPV display. I’ve just checked the F210’s user manual and besides the battery voltage and flight time, there is not too much usable info offered by the OSD. Anyway, it can be purchased separately for $29 and later installed.

Walkera F210 review – Maiden flight

Being really excited to test this quad and see how fast and durable it is I went out right away the flight battery arrived. Second, WOW, this little thing has so much power. It responds extremely fast to my controls. Compared to my other models, the motors are almost instantly stopped when I push the throttle to the lowest position. Both control and FPV range are very good.

When the battery voltage drops below 14 V, the F210’s buzzer will warn with noisy beeps that is time to land.

On my next flight, I’m planning to test the “Intermediate” flight mode, where the F210 is capable of making cool 3D flips and rolls.

I tested the fail-safe bug (of course, without props) by turning off the transmitter, the F120 started to beep, and only after about 20 seconds stopped the motors.  In my opinion, with full throttle, can cross about 600 meters during this time, and it has a good chance of getting lost.

Walkera F210 test flight video with crash

Pricing and availability

As previously mentioned, this product was been offered by GearBest in order to make an honest review. Thanks again for your professional attitude. For those who are interested in buying it, the BNF edition can be found on they website for $299 and the full RTF package for $399. As the newer upgraded F210 3D with inverted flight mode costs only $50 more, you should check this model, too.

Walkera F210 failsafe settings

By default, the fail-safe function cuts the motors only after 20 seconds when the quad is out of range of the transmitter, which can produce a high-distance flyaway in full throttle. In order to reduce this time to 6 seconds, I highly recommend upgrading the F210’s firmware (and if necessary, the RX module).

First, check the manufacturing date of your Walkera F210. If it is before March 8th 2016, you need to replace the receiver board with a newer one, and only after that proceed with the following steps:

• Download and unpack the latest firmware (12th March 2016);
• Install under your Google Chrome the “CleanFlight configurator” Apps;
• Connect the F210 through your the included micro USB cable to your computer;
• Connect the flight battery;
• Run the Clean Flight APP and select “Firmware Flasher”;
• Select manual bound rate (256000);
• Load and flash the “F210_0329.hex” firmware;
• Reset the settings and restore from the “config_v1.3.txt” file;
• Calibrate accelerometer.